System Error
by LivingAtSomePointInTime
Summary: In which Forte tries to push the limits of his programming, and Rock realizes just how little free will his nemesis has. Could be seen as BassRock, but it's ambiguous. Beta'd by my good friend Rainbowraptor. T for Forte's mouth.


Forte did not like boredom. It was very easy for him to get consumed by it, jumping at any chance to alleviate it. Usually, that meant finding his nemesis and challenging him to a fight (or straight up attacking him). This time was no different. After all, that's what he was programmed to do, and attempting to go against programming always ended in agonizing hours on the floor, or wherever he happened to be. His programming quite literally urged him to seek out Rock, fueled his unnecessary rage toward the child robot.

He knew he could do nothing about it, so he didn't think much on it. It would only hinder him to reflect on his limited will, and beating up Rock was so much more fun. Thus, here he was, shooting up town in the hopes that the legendary Mega Man would come rushing in to stop him.

And that did indeed happen. Rock was rushing in on Rush (ha) and headed his way. So, Forte did the logical thing and began firing at him. Of course, Rock dodged all these shots, but perhaps it was Forte's way of 'greeting' people. It was quite rare that anyone in his life didn't get shot at upon entry at least once.

Rock jumped off of his dog, who growled at the black-clad 'bot before teleporting away. This was Forte's cue to speak, buster still aimed at the blue bomber.

"Oh? You're coming to me today? Wonderful." He grinned menacingly. "I've been awfully bored without a blue ass to kick."

But Rock seemed... different today. His expression told the Wily-bot that he was tired, though he couldn't tell why. Robot Masters didn't need to sleep. Maybe he hadn't defragged in a while? ...No, that was more of a Blues thing to do. Rock was well taken care of, and Forte doubted Light would let him skip defragmentation cycles.

Then what was it? Had something happened?

The concern that just barely begun to seep in was cut off sharply, instead replaced with anger. Who cared?! If Rock was distressed, then that just meant he could beat him easier. With renewed vigor, he began charging at the smaller robot while firing. He knew Rock wasn't great at melee attacks, and Forte's added height and physical strength gave him an advantage. That's where he would start.

Rock seemed to halfheartedly dodge the blasts, every one of them still missing him. He grunted when Forte grabbed him by the throat and threw him into a building, the walls crumbling when the heavy robot collided with them. He still wasn't making a move against Forte, which confused and angered the DWN. Maybe it was just because he'd been thrown into a building, though.

But Rock didn't get up. Even when Forte stormed over to where he lay, all he did was look at him, that same exhaustion plain as day in his green eyes. It was almost... worrying, if Forte could worry. Why wasn't he fighting back? He wasn't even defending himself.

"What? Am I not worth your time now?" The enraged Wily-bot spat. "Why'd you even come all the way out here, if you're not even gonna fucking fight?! Get up!"

He pulled Rock up by the collar, and punched him in the face. There was no reaction except for a pointed stare in his direction. So he punched him again. And again. And again. Nothing. No reaction, not even a wince. Surely it hurt, right?

"Does it make you happy to hurt me?"

Those words had Forte freezing mid-punch, eyes wide. He hadn't expected the boy to speak, let alone utter a question such as that.

"I... of course it does! I was made to kill you!" He forced out, not really liking where this was going. Truly, he didn't know if it made him happy. It satisfied his programming, sure, but did it give _him_ joy?

His grip faltered, his expression changing to something unreadable. That wasn't a thought path he wanted to go down, not in front of Rock. Not in front of anyone. His own limited thoughts about what he actually wanted were his and his alone.

The contemplation was soon replaced with rage once more, and he lashed out, striking Rock so hard it knocked his helmet off his head. This time the boy let out a grunt of pain, his face contorting into a wince. It was so pitiful, that for once, the enraged DWN hesitated. He didn't want to do this. Why was he doing this? This kid had done nothing to him, and yet he...!

Forte immediately dropped the Light-bot, hands going to his head as errors flooded his vision and the pain began. It was like someone was holding a running taser to the back of his head, shocking him until he obeyed his programming. He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to purge all the pity he'd felt from his head. Maybe if he did that then the pain would go away.

But...

"Forte? Are you okay?!" Came Rock's suddenly worried voice, and Forte didn't dare open his eyes. He knew he'd see the boy getting up unsteadily, reaching for him. The bastard. Why did he have to be so compassionate to his enemies? It just made things worse. But now Rock was putting a hand on one of his raised arms, and oh god the pain was horrible.

"Stop! Just... ghh... stop!" Forte got out, slapping the other's hand away. Likely from years of dealing with Blues, Rock got the message that touching his nemesis was a no-go, so he instead spoke, soft and concerned.

"Stop what? What am I doing that's hurting you?" The fearful waver in his voice tugged at something deep in Forte's core, which in turn brought about more pain. Still, he tried to remain standing, and at least give Rock an explanation. It was the least he could do, right? ...It was all he could do. Explain. He couldn't change, he couldn't even want to. So he gripped his nemesis's shoulders like a lifeline, and spoke.

"I can't... I can't. Have to fight you. Hurts too much. But hurting you... hurts too. Everything hurts. Don't... know what to do." He sucked in a breath through his teeth, forcing the words out. All he needed was the basic message; Rock would understand. He doubted he could say much more anyway. "P-Programming... grrhh..."

That was all he could say, because the forbidden emotions were swarming his mind, causing the pain to shoot throughout his body as his programming tried to rid him of them. He muffled a scream by biting into his hand, curling in on himself.

"...Your programming is so strict that you can't even feel concern without pain?" Rock realized, horrified. His hands came to his mouth, and he trembled. "That's... that's horrible! No wonder you're always..."

Forte did his best to look up when he heard a hitched breath, and what he saw before him was the mighty Mega Man, tears filling his eyes as their gazes met. The sight was enough to shock his systems, and the pain lessened, though didn't go away completely. He knew he only had a few seconds before the pain would return full force, so he used those precious moments to reach a hand out and brush a tear off of Rock's cheek.

The gesture was shaky, clumsy, and very unlike the war machine that Forte was, and that was enough to tell Rock that it was genuine. There was a brief second where the two of them reached an understanding, and then the silence was broken by screaming once more.

Rock knew what he had to do. Despite wanting to stay and try to coax his nemesis out of the pain he was in, he knew that he needed to leave for the pain to stop. So, he backed away, apologizing, and teleported out.

The pain lasted for what seemed like hours. At some point, Forte's systems shut down, and when he awoke, it was night. The pain was gone, and all he could feel was a crushing numbness. He stood, and began walking through the street, letting the cold wind calm him. Humans ran from him as he passed, but he didn't care. Couldn't care.

If Rock understood, then all was well.


End file.
